The threat to aircraft (both military as well as civilian aircraft), land-based vehicles (such as tanks, large trucks, trains, and the like), as well as ships from surface-to-air missiles (SAMS), man portable air defense systems (MANPADS), and the like has long been recognized and is ever increasing. The break-up of many countries as well as the increased supply and reduced cost of these various weapon systems has lead to the proliferation of these missile-based systems into the hands of people who wish to do serious harm with them. Large, slow moving and poorly maneuverable objects such as large aircrafts (for example, cargo planes and large civilian planes), ships, and trains are particularly vulnerable.
There are several known systems and methods of missile countermeasures. One such known system includes a non-directional infrared system. These systems generally include a lamp (such as a hot carbon lamp or the like) disposed within a housing having a rotatable shutter. The shutter includes a plurality of lenses that are rotated about the housing to produce a pulsed infrared signal designed to confuse the approaching missile.
One of the benefits to these systems is that they are typically fairly low in cost compared to other known systems. Another benefit is that these systems are non-directional. As a result, these systems do not need to track the approaching missile or aim/point the jamming signal towards the approaching missile.
Unfortunately, these known systems suffer from several problems. One such problem is that the rotating housing is maintenance prone. This is particularly a problem in areas with large amounts of dirt and sand. For example, it is a well established fact that during Operation Desert Storm, sand often became jammed within the rotating housing, causing a great deal of maintenance issues and sometimes malfunction.
Another problem associated with these known systems is that the output of the lamp is often not sufficient to confuse the missiles with sufficient time to avoid collision. This is particularly a problem with fast moving missiles as well as large, slow moving ships, trains, and airplanes. A further problem with the known systems is that that color match of the jamming signal (i.e., the frequency of the jamming signal) cannot be adjusted sufficiently to confuse many modern missiles. Newer, modern missiles have ever-increasingly improving counter-countermeasure (CCM) capabilities designed to reduce, diminish, or eliminate the CCM effectiveness of many known countermeasure systems. In order to jam modern missiles, the jamming signal must be very precise. As a result, the known systems may not be capable of jamming many modern missiles.
Yet another problem with the known systems is that the rotating assemblies are large and bulky. This generates a packaging issue since a rotating assembly must be secured to the object being protected. Moreover, the size of the rotating assembly increases the likelihood of the rotating assembly becoming damaged.
Another known countermeasure system includes laser-based directional jamming systems. These systems generate a modulated laser beam that is aimed directly at the sensors of the approaching missile in order to confuse the missile's guiding system. These laser-based directional jamming systems provide increased color match compared to the non-directional infrared countermeasure systems, thus are more effective against modern missiles.
These laser-based directional systems also suffer from several problems. One problem is that the systems are relatively expensive compared to the non-directional infrared systems. The added cost is partially due to the fact that laser-based directional systems must be able to track the approaching missile. Not only does this require a tracking system, but it also requires a movable and rotatable housing to allow the laser beam to be precisely aimed at the missile's guidance system (typically at the cone or head of the missile). Consequently, the rotatable housing is subject to many of the maintenance issues discussed above.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system and method of jamming modern missiles that is preferably low enough in cost to make it more available to the civilian sector. The system and method should be capable of generating a jamming signal with a high degree of precision and accuracy. The use of complex, bulky, and maintenance intensive movable housings should also preferably be avoided and the system and method should also preferably not require complex and expensive tracking devices.
It is important to note that the present invention is not intended to be limited to a system or method which must satisfy one or more of any stated objects or features of the invention. It is also important to note that the present invention is not limited to the preferred, exemplary, or primary embodiment(s) described herein. Modifications and substitutions by one of ordinary skill in the art are considered to be within the scope of the present invention, which is not to be limited except by the following claims.